Technical equipment is what some consider to be a “micro-vertical” market: its requirements can get pretty niche-y, which can mean there aren’t as many companies competing for business as you might find in a bigger vertical (such as finance).
Sounds good on the surface, but we’ve learned the flip side of a minimal number of competitors means the companies in the space often know each other very well, and see each other in most every deal made — they’re more like combatants who’ve faced each other in the ring many times over and know their opponent’s weaknesses and strengths as well as their own.
Standing out, @@being error-free, and being the first to reply to a tech equipment RFP are critical to success@@, and here’s where CPQ systems make all the difference.
Manufacturing Assent:
Making First Impressions Actionable
For decades or longer, successful selling in the technical equipment / manufacturing / machine tools space was all about relationships: it’s who, not what, you know.
But Google (among other factors) changed all that by, for example, making the pricing of tech equipment far more transparent. As solid as your customer relationships may be, price almost always figures in. And much of the “new business” reps may see in the space is usually a competitor’s existing business looking for a better deal.
So that’s one reason why the RFP may arrive. And when the RFP arrives in your inbox (and usually in a handful of competitors’ inboxes as well), it’s off to the races: time to make your first impression.
A CPQ system can improve your first impression in a number of ways. Here are just three:
Speed
Pre-configured proposal templates — one of many CPQ features — for the technical equipment space (or any vertical market) can be loaded into your proposal automation solution, ensuring that you’re always only a few clicks away from being able to send a quote.Customization
With a cloud catalog of products and pricing built into your configure, price, quote application, adding the right items and offers into your quote is as easy as point-and-click. They ask for “die casting machines” or “punching equipment,” you just add it with a click, with your best possible pricing preconfigured.Brand-building
Every proposal you send is an opportunity to extend your brand’s visibility and value. Some CPQ users don’t go much beyond including a specific color palette and logo in their templates. But in the technical equipment space, you need talk the talk in every quote: no mistakes allowed.
With your language preconfigured in every proposal (suggestion: get your most experienced reps to supply their most effective pitches), your brand is built by being an authoritative content provider as well. Yes, a logo/color scheme is important. Making it clear you know your stuff no matter which rep replies to the RFP? Way more important.
If you'd like to learn more about this topic or see IQX for yourself with a free demo, contact us.
